It is my belief that all babies should have some sort of knit or crochet blanket made for them by a relative.  Whoever (whomever?, who knows?)  makes it, be it their mother, grandmother, or their knitty (and now crochet-y) aunt, should imbue that blanket with as much love into every stitch they possibly can.  Even if sometimes it feels like baby blanket purgatory (seriously, they take forever), the thought behind it is what matters.

It’s been a bumper crop for Pfister babies this year, so I’ve been churning the blankets out as fast as I can.  One nephew and two nieces and that doesn’t include my own baby.

Adam’s blanket

Garter Rib Baby Blanket

4 skeins of Berroco Comfort in 9804 Mixed Nuts

Layla’s blanket

Bird’s Nest Baby Throw (look, crochet!)

2 1/2 skeins each of Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton in 098 Almond, 101 Strawberry, and 152 Espresso

Cecilia’s blanket

Sweet and Simple (from Leisure Arts #3219, Our Best Knit Baby Afghans)

4 skeins of Bernat Denim Style in 03426 Weathered Rose

I’m working on my little one’s blanket now, among other things for him, but have no plans to finish it before he gets here.  Which, if he arrives “on time,” is only three days away!

Who knew growing a baby was so exhausting?  Probably all of you mothers out there who’ve done it before, I’m sure, but I definitely did not.  Other than preparing for the baby, life has not changed much, so I don’t have a lot to catch you up on in that area.  BUT, while crafting has been cut by about half, solely because of the tiredness and my natural slowing, I do have a HUGE backlog of projects (mostly knitting) to get out of my “To Blog” file and into this photo journal.

So, here’s the first chunk.  Don’t worry, I won’t overwhelm you by throwing everything in one post, nor will I be writing tons of details on each project.  Just the bare facts, ma’am, thank you very much.

First up, a quick and easy scarf:

Scarf made out of Darling Bud handspun yarn I bought at a Bust Craftacular years ago.  I used a one-row lace pattern I found through Knitting Daily:  Openwork Angora Scarf.

A quick and easy Morning Walk headband for the store out of Rowan’s Amy Butler Belle Aran.  I modified the decreases to be p3tog or k3tog, where appropriate, to match the increases a little better.  Let me know if you need more details and I can post them.

Pigtail Hat out of Dream in Color’s Groovy.  This was a pattern I picked up from Dream in Color at our industry trade show (TNNA) that was part of a yarn club they did last year.  I actually made this hat twice.  Once as a store sample and once for our church’s youth fundraiser auction.

I can’t believe these socks have sat unblogged for this long!  I love them so much I wear them every chance I get during our brief Southern California cold season.  They are my go-to comfy boot socks.  Knitting socks on double-pointed needles was driving me crazy, so I decided to try Cat Bordhi’s two-circular method.  I used her Simple Sock in Three Sizes pattern (from this book) and Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Gingerbread Dude (a seasonal colorway not available right now).  The combination of scrumptious yarn with Cat’s genius method made these one of my favorite knits ever.

That’s it for now.  I promise to be a more interesting and thoughtful blogger in the future.  Less of just showing off what I’ve made.  Of course, that’s after I make it through the backlog

Hopefully normal blogging will resume shortly.

Love you all!

Both of my sisters got married, one in August (right during one of my favorite times, the Perseids shower) in Logan (Utah) and one a couple of days before Thanksgiving in Salt Lake.  Unfortunately, my camera was out of commission for both of them and I don’t think swiping photos from their actual wedding photos would be kosher.  But I’m sure you can imagine – brides, dresses, receptions – typical wedding stuff.

I do have one random shot from after the last wedding.  Since it was Thanksgiving, all the family stuck around to have it together.  We asked permission to from the church next to my Aunt’s house to have dinner there (we wouldn’t all fit at one house – there’s about a hundred of us, no joke) and since we had the building all day and Utah was trying to kill me with all the snow and the cold, we decided to have our Turkey Bowl inside, volleyball-style.

My new brother-in-law (from the August wedding) and me, taking a break while the net gets adjusted and we let the kids take over for a bit.  Doesn’t everyone play volleyball in their bare feet?  No?

In between both of my family weddings, Aaron’s cousin got married in Flagstaff in October.  I’d never been to the Grand Canyon, so we drove out a day early to see the sites.

Checking out the cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon.  I thought this was way more interesting than the Grand Canyon was.

The whole time we were at the Grand Canyon it was off-and-on rain and thunder.  It made for some beautiful rainbows, plus we got to see a bush get hit by lightning and start on fire down in the canyon and had lightning crack right on top of us as we were walking back to the car in a parking lot.

It was worth seeing once, twice if you include when I take my kids to see it in the future, but I think if I ever go again, it will definitely have to be down the river on a raft.

And what about crafting, you ask?  I’ve gotten lots done, but little photographed.  How about some things I finished for the store a while ago:

A One-Row Scarf out of Noro Furin.  This yarn has been discontinued, but the scarf looks good in just about anything.  (Ravelry link)

Baby socks out of Malabrigo Worsted in the Sotobosque colorway.  This is the sample pair I made for the sock class I teach at the store.  (Ravelry link)

Little Shells Shawlette made out of Rowan Purelife Revive.  I love this yarn and it comes in loads of beautiful colors.  We don’t have it at the store anymore, but you can get it at Webs.  This little shawlette only took one and a half balls.

This was a sample for the lace class I taught a few months back.  (Ravelry link)

Enough for now?  I promise I’ll be back with more soon.  Let me know in the comments if you’re still reading and how you’re doing.  I missed you!

Fast forward to about a month ago, when I pulled it out to get it finished for this year’s guy’s trip.

Finally finished

Done just in the nick of time

That darn zipper probably took forever to sew in, though.  A real labor of love.

But it looks pretty good, no?  And he’s happy with it.  Even if the sleeves are a little too long

Ravelry link with yarn info, notes, and modifications

This little guy is constantly in my way, but making me clean my house.  (Borrowed Aaron’s camera to take the picture.)

Still cleaning out my “To Blog” photo file.  This is yarn Aaron brought me home last year from his guy’s vacation to Wyoming.  Pretty stuff, no?   He randomly saw a sign for this handspinner/dyer’s studio as he was out hunting (literally) around and knows just what I like – local and handmade yarn.   It’s Lucy’s Sheep Camp out of Thermopolis, Wyoming.  This is 500 yards of her Rambouileet Bulky yarn (a handspun single) in “Cowgirl Color Theory V.”

So, Aaron went a little overboard.  Not only did he bring me home the gorgeous purple, but because he doesn’t know how much yarn you need to make something, he brought me more.  From the left: 1200 yards of 2-ply lace weight from the sheep “Ethan”, 318 yards of 2-ply lace weight from the Wensleydale sheep “Elvis”, and 300 yards of single ply aran from a badger face rambouillet sheep.  I love that the labels tell you what sheep it came from!  The lace weight is actually more of a fingering to sport weight, but we’ll see how it works up when I decide what to make out it.  The purple yarn is being saved for a little girl’s baby blanket, if we have one.

Guess where I’m sending Aaron back to this October?

Any advice on what camera I should get?  Do you like the one you have?  I need one that does decent close-up photos and pretty true-to-life colors.

Knit ages ago, but saved for my soon to be brother-in-law’s birthday a couple of months ago.

Easy Mistake Stitch Scarf in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted #M-04 Charcoal Heather.  Used 2 skeins and size 9 needles.

If you don’t know of the Purl Bee, or Purl Soho in general, and are in any way crafty, be sure to check them out.  They’re a fount of knowledge, ideas, and tutorials.  Plus their warehouse is in Tustin (field trip anyone?).

I knit these mitts for the store out of the Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend we carry.

I used just barely over one skein of yarn for both mitts and, if I knit them again, I would leave off a cable repeat so that I would’ve only had to use the one skein.

Project details:  Manos Silk Blend in 3106 Autumn.  Pattern from the Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend Collection 1 booklet.  Size 5 needles.

(P.S.  Like how the dogs managed to sneak into almost every picture?)

I’m back from Squam, thoroughly relaxed, despite the massively long flight from the east coast.  The trip out had some major airport snafus.  I almost had a minor meltdown at one point in the Houston airport when they told me I was going to miss my flight to Manchester and have to spend the night in Newark, NJ.  I managed to get re-routed and only got to Manchester a couple of hours late, but my luggage did not and I did not get it until a couple of days later.  It’s not like I needed that clean underwear or anything, right?  Luckily, I packed everything super important (i.e. yarn) in my carry-on bag as well as a pair of jeans, an extra t-shirt, and tennis shoes.  My great cabin mates helped out with deodorant and toothpaste and I was good to go, for the most part.  I will never fly Continental again, though.  Really bad customer service.

Phew.  I did make it to Squam, though, and it was WONDERFUL.  Words really can’t describe but I’ll try my best.  My camera broke halfway through the trip as well so I only had about a dozen pics, so major thanks to my super-duper-generous new friend Melanie for letting me steal some of hers.  (The pics here are about half mine and half Mel’s.)

So, here’s the lowdown on Squam:

Squam Art Workshops is a five day retreat at the beautiful Rockywold-Deephaven Camps on Squam Lake in New Hampshire.  Ever seen “On Golden Pond?”  That place.

You stay in comfy cabins, enjoy meals prepared by the great RDC staff, take classes with amazing and well known teachers, get together for fantastic music and speakers in the evening, and enjoy nature and the beauty of your surroundings.

The food was amazing.

This is Melanie’s yummy waffle from Sunday morning.  I also took part of the great waffle bar, but chose to do the more traditional slather-in-butter-and-syrup style.  Lunches and dinners were similarly yummy, with tons of options to choose from and ice cream all of the time (yay!).

Rockywold dining lodge outside

Rockywold dining lodge inside during lunch

The first night we had a lovely and super inspiring speaker (Jenny Doh) and then music from Jonatha Brooke (awesome!).  No pics – I was exhausted.

Thursday morning, my first class was yoga at the beautiful Dragonfly Yoga Barn with the lovely Michelle Smith.

It was perfect after a long day of traveling the day before.  I centered myself and loved the guided meditation and relaxation (remembering why I came on this trip), as well as getting my body moving and stretching after all of the airport and plane time.

The view from the barn was amazing, as well as the renovated 250-year old barn/studio itself.

The playhouse where all of our evening activities were, as well as my spinning class

My Thursday afternoon class was Beginner Spindle Spinning.  I forgot to take pictures, plus its kind of hard when you’re hands are so busy.  Check out Jenny Doh’s site if you want to see what it was like – she has a good post.

Thursday evening Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the Yarn Harlot herself) spoke.  She was funny, as expected, but it was weird being around a “knitting celebrity.”  How are you supposed to act around her?!  I probably made a total idiot out of myself, but I did what I do with normal celebrities I meet and just act like myself whenever I talked to her around camp.  Plus, in the “real” world, there are no “knitting celebrities.”  Their just normal people.  Anyways, this sweater she was wearing is amazing.  Anyone know the pattern?  It looks so familiar but I can’t remember what it is.

At the end, the talk turned to some of our favorite blog posts from her and she shared one of my all time favorites (Fallen and Can’t Get Up – I dare you to read it and not roll on the floor laughing – leave me a comment when you do) and a hilarious account of her trip to Memphis years ago (this post doesn’t do it justice – just the tip of the funny iceberg).

Friday I took Twined Fingerless Mitts with Beth Brown-Reinsel all day, and again, I didn’t take any knitting pictures.  But Melanie caught me untwisting my yarn (a side effect of twined knitting) on the dock that afternoon after class, so, there you go.

More shots from the dock:

Our dock

View from the dock

My cabin mate Willow swimming (I wish I had brought my suit)

Dangling toes

Our cabin (Cliffside).  Those big windows are the screened in porch, rocking chairs and all.

Saturday we woke up to a pretty big thunderstorm and buckets of rain, but it started clearing up after breakfast and didn’t rain again until Sunday.

Saturday morning my class was Girasole.  This is a blanket/shawl I’ve been wanting to do for ages but it has a couple of pretty intimidating techniques, so I’ve been putting it off.  The class went over them all.

Melanie’s crazy cast-on sitting on her crochet hook.  That’s me casting on in the background.

Our great teacher Jared with his beautiful original blanket.

The beginnings of my Girasole blanket.

Saturday afternoon we had off to relax and explore as we pleased.  I had heard about a relatively easy hike with a great view of the lake and Melanie and I decided to try it out.

We went left, up the Pasture Trail to the summit of West Rattlesnake

It looks so easy!  It was not.  A mile up a really steep path (we apparently did not take the “easy” route) and a mile back down.

A newt (I think it might be a Red-Spotted one)

Me at the top.  Totally overheated and exhausted, but worth it.  Check out that view.

Saturday evening was the Ravelry Revelry and Squam Art Fair.

Goodies at the Lettuce Knit booth.

I came home with the perfect amount of “stuff.”  Some roving, some patterns, a shirt or two, no cash in my wallet.  Just right.

And, finally, after the fair, all of my cabin hung out in our “living” room and crafted and talked the night away.  Well, maybe just half the night for me.

Words cannot describe how great my cabin mates were.  Eleven women and one shower with no scheduling and no problems.  Knitters, crafters, and artists are a special group of people.  The perfect kind of people to go to a retreat with.

Thank you for the great week, Cliffside cabin.  You all were wonderful.  I feel like I came home with a whole new family.

For more photos and write-ups from SAW, check out the blogs listed on this page, as well as our SAW June 2010 Flickr group.  And my generous friend Melanie’s Flickr set, including more shots from the top of Rattlesnake and our cabins old-fashioned ice box, complete with lake ice (a la Farmer Boy).  Oh, and I’ve got a couple more pics in my Flickr set as well.

Goodbye Squam.  Hope to see you next year.

A couple of weeks ago a one of our regular customers and were talking about how great the book Knitalong
was.  She mentioned how she was going to knit a Meathead hat for herself and in keeping with the spirit of the book, I decided to knit one with her.  This is one of those “just for the fun of it” knits which will go in my gift stash until an appropriate recipient comes along.  I’ll probably end up making a bunch more of these as they are super fast and super cute.

Meathead hat (child’s size) knit in Lamb’s Pride Bulky in #M-65 Sapphire

This little monster is a sample I knit up for the store and also finished a couple of weeks ago.  We carry the pattern, as well as a bunch of Rebecca Danger’s other awesome patterns, and the yarn in the store.

Penelope the Empathetic Monster knit in Berroco Pure Pima in #2217 Limelight and Rowan Handknit Cotton in #346 Atlantic

In other news:

We could totally have girls, right?  How cute is my niece and that studly guy giving her a ride?